Liquorice described in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia (glycyrrhiza; National Formulary, Liquirtitiae Radix in the European Pharmacopoeia) long been used as a flavoring or medicinal. In particular, its main component, glycyrrhizin, is 150 times sweeter than sucrose, and liquorice is being widely used as a sweetener even today.
On the other hand, liquorice extract is known to have pharmacological effects such as an antiulceration effect (Takagi, K., Ishii, Y., Arzein Forsch. 17, 1544 (1967)) and a protection effect against hepatopathy.
Since liquorice extract contains a relatively large amount of glycyrrhizin, its sweetness is very high. For this reason, the use of liquorice as a food composition is limited. As a result, it has been very difficult to take full advantage of health and therapeutic effects of liquorice extract.
An object of the present invention is to provide health food and therapeutic compositions containing liquorice extract.